---
title: 'VP of Product, Handshake AI at Handshake'
canonical: 'https://feeny.ai/job/vp-of-product-handshake-ai-handshake-san-francisco-vcwzbdk0rb2x'
type: 'job'
last_seen: '2026-09-16'
---

# VP of Product, Handshake AI at Handshake

- **Company:** [Handshake](https://feeny.ai/companies/handshake)
- **Location:** San Francisco, CA
- **Employment:** full-time
- **Work type:** onsite
- **Posted:** 2026-09-14
- **Last confirmed live:** 2026-09-16
- **Apply:** https://jobs.ashbyhq.com/handshake/b6589d22-4b21-4b63-bfa6-db9c112c908a

## Job description

## About Handshake

Handshake is the career network for the AI economy. 25 million knowledge workers, 1,600 educational institutions, 1 million employers (including 100% of the Fortune 50), and every foundational AI lab trust Handshake to power career discovery, hiring, and upskilling, from freelance AI training gigs to first internships to full-time careers and beyond. This unique value is leading to unparalleled growth; in 2025, we tripled our ARR at scale. Why join Handshake now:

- Shape how every career evolves in the AI economy, at global scale, with impact your friends, family and peers can see and feel
- Work hand-in-hand with world-class AI labs, Fortune 500 partners and the world's top educational institutions
- Join a team with leadership from Scale AI, Meta, xAI, Notion, Coinbase, and Palantir, among others
- Build a massive, fast-growing business with billions in revenue

## About Handshake AI

Handshake AI is the fastest-growing, most critical, and most revenue-generating part of Handshake's business. We power expert-labeled data collection at scale, matching domain experts with leading AI companies to train frontier models—and we're already a top-three player in one of the fastest-growing sectors in AI: human data. We have the opportunity to do for the AI data economy what LinkedIn did for professional networking: become the default platform where the work happens.

## About the Role

We're hiring a VP of Product to lead product for Handshake AI. This is not a "head of" role in name only—you will be the product leader for one of the fastest-growing AI startups in the country, owning the strategy, roadmap, and execution that determines how fast and how well we scale. You'll sit at the center of a business that is compounding quickly: new customers, new data modalities, a growing operator and fellow ecosystem, and an increasingly complex set of platform needs. Your job is to turn that complexity into a coherent product organization—one with clear strategy, strong PM talent, and a roadmap that keeps pace with (and gets ahead of) the business. You'll report into the CPO, sit on the senior team, and partner directly with Engineering, Design, Operations, and Sales/Customer leadership to shape where Handshake AI goes next.

## What You'll Own

Product Strategy & Vision. Set the product strategy for Handshake AI as a whole—across data modalities, the operator and fellow platforms, and customer-facing surfaces. Translate "become the career network and data engine for the AI economy" into a concrete, sequenced roadmap. Team Leadership. Build, lead, and grow a product organization of PMs across modalities and platform pods (e.g., Operator Experience, Fellow Experience, modality-specific pods like Coding). Hire exceptional product talent, set the bar for craft and rigor, and develop the managers and ICs on your team. Cross-Functional Partnership. Be the connective tissue between Engineering, Design, Operations, and GTM. Ensure the product org's priorities reflect both what customers need and what will scale the business fastest, and that trade-offs across pods are made coherently rather than in silos. Executive-Level Prioritization. Make and own the hard calls: which modalities to invest in, which platform capabilities to build now vs. later, and where to say no. Communicate strategy and trade-offs clearly to the exec team and the board. Metrics & Accountability. Define what success looks like for the product org—revenue enablement, quality outcomes, operator/fellow efficiency, time-to-launch for new modalities and customers—and hold the org accountable to it. Customer & Market Fluency. Spend real time with AI labs, enterprise customers, and internal stakeholders to understand how the market is evolving. Use that fluency to keep Handshake AI ahead of where the human-data category is heading, not just responsive to it. Scaling the Platform. Ensure the underlying product and operational platform can flex to new customer types, data types, and volumes—so growth in revenue doesn't require linear growth in headcount or one-off engineering.

Desired Capabilities

- 12+ years in product management, including 4+ years as a senior product leader managing other PMs and managers, ideally at a high-growth startup.
- Experience owning product for a business (or major business line) growing quickly, with a demonstrated ability to build strategy and org structure that scale with revenue.
- Strong operational intuition—you've built or overseen platforms for internal users, operations teams, or complex two-sided marketplaces, not just consumer-facing features.
- Track record hiring and developing product talent, including PMs who own ambiguous, 0→1 problem spaces.
- Systems thinker who can hold a multi-modality, multi-stakeholder roadmap in their head and make coherent trade-offs across it.
- Comfortable operating in high ambiguity: the market, the customer needs, and the product surface area are all still being defined.
- Data-informed but action-oriented—you use metrics to prioritize, but you move with conviction when the signal is directional rather than definitive.
- Excellent executive communication; you can represent product strategy credibly to the C-suite, the board, and customers.

Bonus Points

- Experience in human data, annotation/labeling, RLHF, or AI training data ecosystems.
- Experience building or scaling a marketplace or platform business (two-sided, operator/worker-facing, or similar).
- Prior experience at a fast-growing AI lab, data company, or enterprise SaaS company through a period of hypergrowth.
- Experience building career, talent, or workforce products.

## We Offer

Handshake delivers benefits that help you feel supported and thrive at work and in life. The below benefits are for full-time US employees.

- 🎯 Ownership: Equity in a fast-growing company
- 💰 Financial Wellness: 401(k) match, competitive compensation, financial coaching
- 🍼 Family Support: Paid parental leave, fertility benefits, parental coaching
- 💝 Wellbeing: Medical, dental, and vision, mental health support, $500 wellness stipend
- 📚 Growth: $2,000 learning stipend, ongoing development
- 💻 Remote & Office: Internet, commuting, and free lunch/gym in our SF office
- 🏝 Time Off: Flexible PTO, 15 holidays + 2 flex days
- 🤝 Connection: Team outings & referral bonuses

Explore our mission, values, and comprehensive US benefits at [joinhandshake.com/careers](http://joinhandshake.com/careers).

## About Handshake

## Company Overview
- **One-liner**: Handshake is the career network for the AI economy, connecting job seekers with internships, full-time roles, freelance gigs, and AI training work through a three-sided marketplace.
- **Entity Type**: Private (Series F; total funding $434M across 6 rounds)
- **Headquarters**: San Francisco, California, USA
- **Founded**: 2014
- **Founders**: Garrett Lord (CEO), Ben Christensen, Scott Ringwelski

## Core Business
- **Primary industry**: Career platform / Job marketplace / AI workforce infrastructure
- **Target customers**: B2C (job seekers, from students to experienced professionals) and B2B (employers including 100% of Fortune 500 and all foundational AI labs; also educational institutions)
- **Mission**: Expand access and improve outcomes for job seekers, helping the workforce stay ahead in the AI economy.

## Products & Services
- **Handshake Core Platform**: A three-sided marketplace connecting 25 million knowledge workers, 1,600+ schools, and 1 million employers. Features dynamic profiles, intelligent job matching, and interactive skill-building.
- **Handshake AI Enterprise**: AI-powered tools for employers and job seekers, including AI-driven matching, safety features, and pay management.
- **AI Trainer Gigs**: Paid, flexible, remote work for individuals to train and evaluate AI models (e.g., AI Evaluation Specialist, up to $40/hr) – no prior AI experience required.
- **Handshake Network**: Community events, career advice, and networking for students, experts, and professionals in AI and other fields.

## Market Standing
- **Valuation/Market Cap**: Not publicly disclosed
- **Key Metric**: Total funding $434M (6 rounds); annual revenue $56.5M (LinkedIn estimate)
- **Notable Investors/Partners**: Board includes representatives from General Catalyst, Kleiner Perkins, EQT Ventures, True Ventures, and Niantic. Strategic partners include 100% of the Fortune 500 and foundational AI labs.
- **Growth Signals**: Headcount at 5,272 employees (+708.8% YoY per LinkedIn); 1M+ companies on platform; 25M users; expansion into AI trainer gig economy; new roles in HAI (Handshake AI Enterprise) such as Applied AI Engineer, AI Platform Engineer, and Forward Deployed Engineer.

## Competitive Advantages
- **Network effects**: The only three-sided marketplace linking students, employers, and educational institutions at scale.
- **AI-first positioning**: Deep integration of AI into job matching, skill-building, and new freelance training roles – creating a unique ecosystem for the AI economy.
- **Trusted by elite institutions**: 1,600+ partner schools and every Fortune 500 company provides unparalleled reach into early-career talent.

## Strategic Focus
- **AI economy expansion**: Building the “career network for the AI economy” – expanding beyond college students to all knowledge workers, and adding AI training gigs as a new revenue and engagement stream.
- **Product innovation**: Heavy investment in Handshake AI Enterprise (HAI), including AI matching, safety, and pay infrastructure.
- **Global scaling**: Offices in San Francisco, New York, UK, and Bangalore; operating in 32 countries.

## Why Work Here
- **Culture**: Values include “Students first,” “Leave nothing to chance,” “Own the outcome,” “Invent and reinvent,” and “Olympic pace.” Emphasis on ownership, urgency, and constant evolution.
- **Remote/Hybrid policy**: Many roles are based in San Francisco or New York, but some positions (e.g., Trust & Safety Specialist, Support Specialist) are remote in the US. Recent openings show both office and remote options.
- **Benefits**: Health & wellness support, financial support, time off, modern offices with meals, snacks, and social activities. Strong focus on career growth and learning.
- **Career growth**: Rapid headcount growth suggests ample internal mobility; roles range from engineering (ML, AI, data) to customer success, partnerships, and product management.

## Sources
1. [joinhandshake.com/about](https://joinhandshake.com/about/)
2. [joinhandshake.com/careers](https://joinhandshake.com/careers/)
3. [linkedin.com/company/team-handshake](https://www.linkedin.com/company/team-handshake)
4. [joinhandshake.com](https://joinhandshake.com/)

## Other roles at Handshake

- [AI Red Teamer (LLM Generalist) - Remote](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-red-teamer-llm-generalist-remote-handshake-united-states-nsv8rhpz17yq) — United States
- [Director, Central Operations](https://feeny.ai/job/director-central-operations-handshake-san-francisco-06qyp36sb5ym) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Forward Deployed Engineer (Bulgaria)](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-forward-deployed-engineer-bulgaria-handshake-sofia-e0j8p06aer33) — Sofia, Bulgaria
- [Senior Recruiter](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-recruiter-handshake-seattle-rkb3p1en91hq) — Seattle, WA
- [Lead Recruiter, India](https://feeny.ai/job/lead-recruiter-india-handshake-india-vsgct8sg58ng) — India
- [Senior Director - AI Commercial Counsel](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-director-ai-commercial-counsel-handshake-san-francisco-rr3c2az2ts06) — San Francisco, CA
- [AI Red Teamer (LLM Generalist)](https://feeny.ai/job/ai-red-teamer-llm-generalist-handshake-seattle-nd0pg32zvw43) — Seattle, WA
- [Business Development Representative, Government](https://feeny.ai/job/business-development-representative-government-handshake-united-states-gvy3y01t6jzc) — United States
- [Software Engineer I, Quality](https://feeny.ai/job/software-engineer-i-quality-handshake-san-francisco-a29rs3wtgxng) — San Francisco, CA
- [Senior Software Engineer, Consumer Experience](https://feeny.ai/job/senior-software-engineer-consumer-experience-handshake-san-francisco-py2m3bwqpbg8) — San Francisco, CA